SmartPhone Choices for the Mobile Contrarian

If you live in the United States and own a smartphone, odds are that you fall into one of two camps: Apple or Android. Apple is... well... Apple. It's hard to summarize the following Apple has in the US marketplace sometimes; Cult-like immediately comes to mind, but the popularity of the brand is unmatched in the US marketplace. Android is the other elephant in the room, offering more diversity in terms of handsets and manufacturers to the general US consumer. Android's also overwhelmingly the operating system of choice for everybody else outside of North America (meaning practically the rest of the world), which gives manufacturers from around the globe an immense pool to sell to. The trend of packing second-tier or non-flagship devices with as much high-end functionality as possible has carried a great deal of appeal in other areas of the world when it comes to android phones. Innovation to get to new markets has been driven because of this diversity. The great thing about all of this is that diversity of thought, and cost-effectiveness is starting to gain a foothold here in the United States, with more and more international names being imported into the marketplace or being available online via platforms like Amazon, New Egg, etc.There are a few android phones from the international frontier (and on the homefront) that really stand out from the crowd to me:

1. Google Pixel 3a XL—Google's budget-friendly offering from their family of devices seemed to have struck the balance that a LOT of consumers looking for economically sound alternatives are looking for. With a price point of around $399.00, Google's done a good job of maintaining many of the higher-end specs that are attractive. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 processor and 12-megapixel camera are highlights of the device. The Battery life could be better, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a device carrying google's high-quality version of Stock Android with these specs, at this price point. There's no wireless charging, but that's to be expected somewhat at this price point.
2. Motorola G7—Motorola's never been afraid to step out of the traditional box of cellphone design to bring something different to their user community. Their G7 Series of phones represents their shift to marketing mid-level, affordable phones to consumers while exhibiting the same commitment to packing in as much technical value they can for the budget smartphone shopper. The G7, G7 Play, and G7 Power are variants that fit all types of smartphone users and price points. The fingerprint of the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor is all over this phone line as well. In a market where flagship phones tend to dominate the headlines, Motorola is offering some extremely attractive alternatives for the more frugal-minded shopper.
3. OnePlus 7 Pro—Yeah, I know... The OnePlus 7 Pro is a flagship phone, even if it's a bit obscure in North American circles. That doesn't change the fact that is an absolute marvel of value for the price point it offers the average consumer in this market. It's arguably one of the fastest smartphones of any class out on the market today. OnePlus doesn't have wireless charging, but the speed and snappiness of the device's performance more than compensates for it. This phone sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, and up to 12 GB of RAM, as well as a 4000 mAh capacity battery. The optics of the phone are equally impressive, with the OnePlus carrying a robust 48 megapixels contained in a 3 camera array on the device. The price point is a bit steep compared to some of the other options mentioned in this article ($699.00 US), but the sheer quality of the device justifies the price point, and its inclusion on this list.
4. PocoPhone F1—Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has got a LOT of skin in the smartphone game at present, with multiple divergent brands of devices making a real impact on the greater international stage as far as affordable phone options go. The most visible of these right now is the PocoPhone F1, which has really raised eyebrows among MANY smartphone enthusiasts in the American marketplace. The FIRST thing that grabs the attention of the consumer is the price. Starting at $299.00, PocoPhone already has a significant interest level for folks in the market that are looking to stretch their respective dollars to the limit. It gets even better when you look at the specs for that price. You've got a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage as a base (and expandable up to 256 GB with MicroSD card), a 20 megapixel Front-facing Camera, and 12 Megapixel by 5-megapixel dual-camera at the rear, and a vast 4000 mAh capacity battery. The price point hasn't changed yet after all of those basics... SERIOUSLY. There's no wireless charging, and you may need to hit Amazon in order to readily get access to the device, but the value is CRAZY for consumers looking for high-end specs in a package that leaves them with a warm fuzzy feeling when the price is considered. It's arguably the BEST pound-for-pound value on this list, IMHO.

Now there are plenty of other devices out there right now that could and should be on this list; Nokia's slowly making a resurgence back into the US market using the same mid-level 'affordable android model that some of the aforementioned manufacturers on this list are using. Huawei has come out on the winning end of the mini trade dust-up between the US Government and China, which will enable them to re-introduce their unique offerings to North American consumers (Huawei was heavily in the US marketplace as a viable third party competitor prior to the heat they got from the current administration). However, these four smartphones really stood out to me as a tech consumer. They're also representative of just how competitive the US marketplace is becoming in terms of offering cost-friendly alternatives that don't skimp on performance, functionality, or reliability. It's going to be interesting to see how incumbents like Apple and Samsung respond to the growing demand for flagship-level performance out of cost-effective, mid or lower-level offerings.